


After 7

by 1destielplease



Series: Seven years and everything after [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Manga artist!Tendou, Post-High School, Seven Years Later, Ushijima is not a robot and has feelings, ushiten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:20:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27345700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1destielplease/pseuds/1destielplease
Summary: "I'm going to quit volleyball after high school. I'll be watching you on TV, though. I'm just letting you know I'm going to be bragging to everyone that we were best friends. Is that alright?" Tendou said. After being beat by Karasuno, they were both feeling some type of way. Especially Ushijima. With their backs on the floor and legs in the air, Ushijima wanted to savor what was probably their last time stretching together.Ushijima wanted to ask, were?"Sure.""And if they ask to interview me, I'm going to say we were the bestest friends ever, and we did everything together!"Again, were?"Okay."
Relationships: Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Series: Seven years and everything after [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2059035
Comments: 5
Kudos: 196





	After 7

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first haikyuu! Fic! I love Ushiten so much so I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I might make a part two but I'm not sure yet. Also a bit of spoilers from the anime, i havent read the manga but i know a little bit about it. i tried to make it spoiler free! just if you havent watched up until season 3, and you dont wont spoikers this kne contains a bit!

Satori Tendou. He was a man of mystery. He was a man that everyone in primary school avoided, the kid that moms didn't want their sons and daughters to play with because he was _weird_. Ushijima didn't think so. Ushijima thought everyone else was strange for not liking Tendou. Ushijima remembers the first time he met him. It was during volleyball try-outs. He watched Tendou block every single players' spikes. Tendou was so tall for a first-year; even the third years were intimidated by him. Because of the height difference and the skills he had to block, he looked almost scary to some players. Not to Ushijima, though. To Ushijima, he looked like a pro. He knew that this was the kind of teammate he wanted to play alongside. There was no way Tendou wouldn't make the team. Now Ushijima just needed to make sure he made it too. 

"I'm going to quit volleyball after high school. I'll be watching you on TV, though. I'm just letting you know I'm going to be bragging to everyone that we were best friends. Is that alright?" Tendou said. After being beat by Karasuno, they were both feeling some type of way. Especially Ushijima. With their backs on the floor and legs in the air, Ushijima wanted to savor what was probably their last time stretching together.

Ushijima wanted to ask, were?

"Sure."

"And if they ask to interview me, I'm going to say we were the bestest friends ever, and we did everything together!" 

Again, were?

"Okay." 

Tendou smiled at Ushijima, and together they switched to their right leg to stretch. Why can't Ushijima say anything? Why did it feel like Tendou was saying goodbye? It's not like they wouldn't see each other after high school, right? Ushijima turned his face so he could look at his teammate. His hair was still a little damp from sweating, and his mouth was pulled up into a cute cat smile. "Tendou?" "Hmm"

"Why don't you go pro?" Ushijima said. Tendou's smile suddenly dropped, and he turned to look at his friend instead. "What?" he replied confusingly. 

"Why don't you go pro? You have the skills to become a professional volleyball player. I do not see why you would throw that away." What Ushijima wanted to say was _let's go pro together._

Tendou didn't respond right away. Ushijima didn't know much about feelings or love, but he knew that the way Tendou was looking at him made him feel happy.

"I want to create stories. I love volleyball, but to be honest, the only reason why I stayed playing it was because of you," as he said that Tendou looked away from Ushijima. "Wakatoshi-Kun, I admire you. You're like a superhero every time I watch you play. The way you're passionate about volleyball, I'm passionate about creating. One day, I want to make manga that people will talk about. Will you read my manga, Wakatoshi-Kun?" Tendou asked with a crooked smile.

Ushijima blinked at him. Is he turning down being the best middle blocker Japan's ever seen to become a manga artist? Ushijima's lips curled upwards just a tiny bit. If Tendou hadn't known him for three years, he wouldn't have noticed.

"Will there be ads?" Tendou stared at Ushijima before curling on the floor and giving out a loud laugh that echoed throughout the gym. 

That was the last time he saw Tendou. The years went by in a blink of an eye, and before Ushijima knew it, he was traveling with a pro team all over the world to play against worldwide league teams. He loved it. He got to do what he loved in the end. He even got to see some old rivals from his high school days play against him. Every day was practice, matches, and resting for him. It became repetitive but not in a bad way. Ushijima preferred to have a routine. Without a routine, things might get messy. But maybe messy wasn't so bad. At 25, there was not much Ushijima regretted in his life. He was thankful for many things. But if he had to choose one thing, he'd choose not staying in contact with his best friend. His old best friend. Satori Tendou. Ushijima constantly thinks about him and his crooked smile. He thinks about him and his one-sided conversations. He thinks about him and his wacky red hair and his pretty lazy eyes. He thinks about him a lot. 

At 25 years old, Ushijima learned what love meant. At least platonically. He loved his family and his friends and teammates. He even loved his fans, though sometimes he didn't understand how they could love someone they've never met. His teammates said it was a nice gesture and a nice feeling to be loved by many people, so he should accept it. So he did. And it was a nice feeling. He knew many people loved him, but he only longed to be loved by one person. He wanted to feel the romantic love that characters in movies and stories had. It was not like Ushijima had never had sex with someone or kissed someone. He was human, after all. He tested waters to see what he liked. He kissed men and women and people who don't identify as either gender. He learned about sexuality and emotions, and he came to a realization. He already knew what he liked, who he wanted.

Satori Tendou. 

The problem was he didn't even know his phone number, and Ushijima didn't use social media. He did keep in contact with some of his old high school teammates. 

_Why didn't I think of this sooner? Why didn't I just ask them? I could've…_

"Ushijima-San?" Ushijima blinked and looked at his teammate. 

"Yes?"

"You okay? You spaced out there for a second."

"I am okay. Did you need something?" Ushijima replied. "Always so straightforward." His teammate laughed. Ushijima was glad to have teammates who understood his personality. Over the years, he has lost many new friends because they thought of him as too cold.

"We just wanted to know if you wanted to join us for dinner today?" 

"Oh. I'd love to. But I have a manga that I want to finish today. It is a really good manga. The ads are interesting too," Ushijima replied. His teammate gave him a friendly smile and nodded. "You really love that manga artist, don't you? What was his name again?"

"Satori. Tendou, Satori. Satori Tendou," Ushijima answered. His teammate laughed and nodded. "Yes, you didn't have to say his name like five times! Well, okay. You better join us next time, ace!"

"Will do," Ushijima nodded his goodbye. 

Other than being on the court, Ushijima's favorite pass-time was reading manga. Specifically his best friend's manga. Is he even still considered his best friend? It's been so long. Tendou did end up becoming what he wanted to be. Ever since Ushijima found out that Tendou became a manga artist, he has bought every single manga book created by him. Ushijima has read them all. He loved them all. Ushijima will admit that the manga he was currently reading made him cry two times. Ushijima usually doesn't cry, but Tendou made the character so sad. He just wanted the character to realize he was loved finally. He hoped that when he got home, he would finish the manga, and there would be a happy ending.

Well, he did go home, and he did finish the manga. But instead of a happy ending, he got a bittersweet ending. Ushijima tugged the covers over his head and groaned. 

_It's 9 pm here. If I call Goshiki...no, it is too late._

Putting out a call to his old teammate to see if he has Tendou's number, he shuts his lights off and goes to bed.

Days turn to weeks, and weeks turn to months. Ushijima's heart aches. He never knew how much he wanted to see Tendou until now. At least to just talk to him. 

They won another competition. They were really becoming one of the best volleyball teams in the world. But all of that meant nothing to Ushijima if he didn't share that victory with the person who has been occupying his mind for years. 

That night, after having dinner with his team, he called Goshiki. He thanked the heavens for Goshiki's weekly calls to see how he was doing. He was so thankful his old teammates still kept in contact with him. He missed them. But he talked to them often. He hasn't spoken to Tendou in years. 

"Ushijima-San? This is the first time you've ever called me first," Goshiki said with a surprising tone. 

"I apologize. I just have one question to ask you," Ushijima said. He sighed and looked up at his ceiling. If Goshiki didn't have Tendou's number, he's unsure how else he could find him. 

"Yeah, sure. Is something bothering you?"

"No. Actually, yes. I have not talked to Satori since we graduated high school."

There was silence on the other side. 

"Hello?"

"Yes, sorry. I'm here. I'm just shocked."

"By what?"

"I'm not sure if I'm shocked by the fact that that was the first time I've heard you call him by his first name or the fact that you haven't talked to Tendou-San in years." 

Ushijima never thought of this. Tendou used to call him Wakatoshi, but he couldn't remember ever calling Tendou Satori. 

"Goshiki. I have learned what love is, and I need to tell Satori. I do not have his number. I was wondering if you perhaps have it?" Ushijima asked. The line went silent again, and Ushijima was beginning to grow impatient. 

"Goshiki, please tell me you have his number or know where he lives. I need something- anything. I need to make up for the lost time. I have to apologize."

On the other line, Goshiki stared at his friend, who was in front of him, eating ramen with wide eyes.

"U-Ushijima-San… do you love Tendou-San?"

"Yes." No hesitation was heard in Ushijima's voice, and Goshiki almost cried. 

"Oh my god. Oh my god? It took you over five years to realize that you're in love with him? I'm actually kind of angry with you."

Ushijima raised his eyebrow.

"Why?"

"I won't tell you. And I kind of don't even want to give you his number, but Tendou-San is my friend, and I know how he feels. Don't mess this up, Ushijima-San or I will not forgive you." Ushijima was confused but also upset at the fact that Goshiki implied Tendou might be sad.

"I do not know what you are talking about, but I can promise you I will not mess this up. When it comes to Satori, I mean nothing but good. I will tell him how much I missed him." 

"Okay. Well, I hope you have a piece of paper and a pencil because you only get one chance. I will not repeat his number." 

Ushijima sprinted to his kitchen, dug around to find a pencil, and grabbed a random piece of paper. He scribbled Tendou's number and thanked Goshiki before hanging up. 

Ushijima wasted no time and dialed Tendou's number on his phone. His heart began pounding loudly against his chest. This was the first time he felt like he would actually die from cardiac arrest. Why was he so nervous? Ushijima has never felt this way before, even during important competitions. What would he even say to him?

Before Ushijima could write a quick script on the piece of paper he pulled out earlier, Tendou picked up the phone alarmingly quickly. 

"Hello?" Tendou's cheerful voice rang out.

"Satori."

Just like the call with Goshiki, Tendou went silent. 

"Who is this?"

"It is Wakatoshi Ushijima. We were... Best buds in high school," Ushijima said. "You let me borrow your manga, and we were on Shiratorizawa's volleyball team." There was a chuckle on the other side of the line. 

"Geez Wakatoshi-Kun, you don't have to give me a whole bibliography!"

"Yes,… well, I was afraid you would not remember me" Ushijima didn't mean for his voice to come out as sad as it did.

"How could I forget my best friend?" Tendou replied equally as sad.

"Satori... You changed your number," Ushijima stated. "Mmm, I did. You didn't call."

"Neither did you."

A sigh could be heard, and Ushijima felt his heart ache.

"How could I? I didn't want to distract you." 

Ushijima was becoming even more confused than he was speaking to Goshiki. 

"Distract me from what?" He furrowed his eyebrows. On the other hand, Ushijima was extremely happy to speak to Tendou. He pressed his phone harder against his ear as if that'd make Tendou's voice any louder or clearer. 

"From volleyball. From your future," Tendou said desperately. 

"I do not understand, Satori. How would you calling me distract me from my future?" 

"Because I would take too much of your time, Wakatoshi," Ushijima noticed how Tendou didn't add 'Kun' to his name. He didn't like that.

"I would want to hear your voice every day, and I would want to see you as often as possible. I have been so careful not to see you when you're in Tokyo. Not that you'd spot me in the thousands of people crowd anyway. If I called you, you would've gotten tired of me, Wakatoshi." Ushijima processed his words carefully. He still didn't understand. 

"Why would you think I'd get tired of you? I didn't call you because you'd always be the first to call me, and then we graduated, and you never called or texted me. I was worried you'd grown tired of me and my personality. Satori, I've thought about you for years. I am sorry I didn't look harder for you." 

"I love your personality, Wakatoshi. You were the reason I gained so much confidence in high school. Do you think I haven't thought about you too? You are always on my mind."

"Wakatoshi-Kun."

"What?"

"Wakatoshi-Kun. That's what you usually call me."

"Right. Sorry, I just… can't believe I'm actually talking to you." Tendou said. 

"You said you're living in Tokyo?" Ushijima stared at the fridge. He was still in the kitchen. 

"Yeah."

"Let's meet up, Satori."

"What?"

"I'm in Tokyo for a few weeks. Let's have coffee?"

Ushijima was almost afraid of Tendou saying no. Almost. But he knew Tendou missed him just as much as he missed him. Now that Ushijima established that Tendou didn't hate him or dislike him for some reason, he was positive Tendou missed him too. He hoped. 

"Yeah, okay. Sure. When are you free?"

Ushijima slept better these days. Every night he would call Tendou and ask him how his day was. They agreed to meet up that weekend. It was Thursday night, and Ushijima wouldn't meet Tendou until Saturday. His patience was wearing thin. Hearing Tendou after so long really made Ushijima feel happy but seeing him in person would make him happier. He wasn't afraid to admit just how much he missed his friend. 

"-and then I deleted all of the files I had on that story by accident! Ushi, you have no idea how much I cried that day," Tendou said while laughing. Ushijima frowned. 

"I hate seeing you cry. If I had been there, I would have hugged you. I would have wiped your tears away and helped you any way that I could have." Ushijima said. He didn't notice that his voice went soft until Tendou pointed it out.

"Are you going soft on me, Ushi?" Tendou said. Ushijima could practically hear how embarrassed he was.

"I like it when you call me Ushi," Ushijima said instead. "W-what? I thought you wanted me to call you Wakatoshi-Kun?"

"I don't mind as long as it's not Ushijima or just Wakatoshi." 

Tendou began to laugh again, but Ushijima could hear how nervous he was. 

"If you keep saying those things, I'll start to believe you're falling in love with me, Wakatoshi-Kun!"

_But it's the truth. I do love you. I'm sorry it took so long to figure out._

"I do love you, though." 

"Ha...ha. I love you too, Wakatoshi-Kun!"

"No, Satori. I love you. I want to kiss you. I want to hold your hand. I want you to come to my games and get interviewed by the reporters. I want you to tell them that I love you and I'll win every game for you. I want to buy you chocolates on Valentine's day, and I want to make love to you. 

Ushijima has always been straightforward. Tendou knew this. But nothing could prepare him for everything Ushijima said. 

"Ushi...Ushijima, what are you saying."

"Don't call me that."

Ushijima got up from his bed and grabbed his jacket. He put on his shoes while he balanced his phone against his ear and shoulder. "Satori. Send me your address. I cannot wait anymore. I have not seen you in more than seven years. I will not wait till Saturday. Please," Ushijima grabbed the manga he finished reading almost a week again and his house keys. 

"A-are you sure? Ushi, it's late. I don't want you to-"

"Satori. If you do not mind, please let me come over. My body is itching to touch you. I want to see you."

"Fuck, okay. I'm going to cry if you're fucking with me, Wakatoshi-Kun," Tendou said. Tendou hardly cursed. This only proves to Ushijima that he still did not believe him. 

"I guarantee you I am not _fucking with you_ ," Ushijima said. 

"I'll send you my address. Please be careful. It's really late, and it's freezing outside" Tendou said as he started typing his address out in a text. 

"I promise I'll be careful."

Ushijima shut his lights off and locked the door to his apartment. He had about 3 weeks left in Tokyo before he was off to France. He was going to make sure every second was spent with Tendou. 

It took Ushijima about 15 minutes to get to Tendou's apartment by taxi. He was beginning to feel a bit jittery. He was finally going to see Tendou. He knew years ago, Ushijima would leave Tendou to carry on a one sided conversation or would never hug him back if Tendou jumped on him. He was very cold to him. And though Ushijima knew Tendou didn't mind, he was a different person now. He knew now what he wanted and what he wanted was Tendou. 

Ushijima stared at the building in front of him. It was huge. Given how successful Tendou was as a manga artist, he knew he could definitely afford to live here. Tendou had to send special instructions to the butler at the front door to guide Ushijima to the elevator. 

Once Ushijima was on the right floor and in front of the right door, he dusted off his shirt and jacket and fixed his hair. This was going to be Tendou's first time seeing Ushijima since high school. He wanted to look nice for him, but he kind of just ran out of his apartment. 

He knocked on the door and waited for Tendou to open it. 

Within a couple of seconds, the door opened. Ushijima felt the air get knocked out of his lungs. Tendou shortly felt that as well, but he felt that because Ushijima jumped on him, causing him to fall on the floor with a loud "ufff." 

"Ushi-"

"Satori. I missed you. God, I missed you so much," Ushijima said. Ushijima never cried. When he did, it would only be a couple of tears. Today seemed to be the day where Ushijima would finally cry like a normal person. His tears soaked Tendou's hoodie. "Ushi, I missed you too."

Ushijima was on top of Tendou, crying. Tendou used his foot to kick the door shut and squeezed Ushijima tighter. "Ushi, stop crying. Let me see your face. You hugged me so fast I didn't even get to see you," Tendou said; he chuckled through his tears. 

Ushijima slowly lifted his head. His eyes were red and stained with tears. Tendou tried to lift them back up to a sitting position. 

He brought his hands up to Ushijima's face and wiped away the tears. "Don't cry," Tendou said, still wiping away all the new tears falling from Ushijima's eyes.

"You're crying too." 

They stayed on the floor, wiping each other's tears till there were no more tears to wipe.

They sat in front of each other, just looking. There was almost disbelief in each other's eyes. 

"Hi," Tendou said. He smiled his beautiful cat-like, crooked smile.

Ushijima gave a watery laugh and responded with "hi." 

"I think we should talk," Tendou said. He brought his long fingers up to Ushijima's hair and twirled pieces. 

"Okay."

They talked. They talked about how dumb Ushijima felt for not realizing his feelings sooner and how he let the distance get to him for seven years. They spoke of how Ushijima bought every one of Tendou's manga books and how much Tendou missed Ushijima. 

"I'm still mad that you didn't call me," Tendou said with a small frown. 

"I'm mad at myself too. I'm sorry. But I hope you are okay with me calling you every day now," Ushijima stated.

"I'm more than okay with that," Tendou replied.

They sat down on Tendou's couch. Both of them tangled their legs together. Both of them just wanted to feel some sort of physical touch to make sure that this was real. 

"Tendou, I love you. I love you so much. No other person has been able to make me feel the way you do. You understand me. You don't have to say you feel the same way, but I really needed you to know that," Ushijima said. 

"You can be so dense sometimes, Ushi. How can you still not know that I'm crazy about you too? I told you that you're all I thought about for the past seven years. Ushi, I literally love you and always have. I never expected you to feel the same, so I am still shocked, but I hope you know you're not going to get rid of me easily. I even based my main character on you!"

Ushijima gave him a blank stare. 

"You did?"

Tendou laughed and nodded. 

"Yes!"

Ushijima suddenly grabbed Tendou's chin and lifted it up. He pressed his lips against his. Tendou stared at Ushijima, who had closed his eyes.

Before Tendou could relax and kiss him back, Ushijima flinched and pulled away.

"Satori, I apologize. I-" he was stopped midway by Tendou, who jumped on top of him and pressed his own lips against Ushijima. He sighed into the kiss. 

The kiss turned heated quickly, and Ushijima had to pull away to calm himself. Tendou, who was breathing heavily, put his forehead against Ushijima's. 

"That was the best kiss ever," Tendou said.

"Agreed," Ushijima responded.

"We still have so much to talk about, Ushi, but it's like 2 am. Stay the night?" Ushijima wrapped his arms around Tendou's waist and pecked him on the lips. "Yes, of course."

That night, Ushijima had the best sleep ever. Both men slept soundly with his arms wrapped around Tendou and Tendou's face tucked in Ushijima's chest. The warmth of each other made it so they didn't even need a thick blanket. 

They had so much to catch up on but right now, this was the happiest they've ever been.


End file.
